I was a PhD student in the Animal Flight Group at the Department of Evolutionary and Environmental Biology at the University of Haifa between 2015 and 2020. My project was supported by a scholarship from the University of Haifa and by the Minerva Center for Movement Ecology.
Research
My PhD project investigates the effects of environmental conditions on diurnal migration movements of soaring birds at different spatial and time scales, using data recorded by radars and GPS devices in Israel, Turkey, Italy and Spain, in order to understand the migratory flight modulation and behaviour (i.e. migration timing, route selection, continental movements, etc.) in relation to environmental factors.
Background
I completed my B.A. in Natural Sciences in “La Sapienza” University of Rome, Italy. I then proceeded to study Ethology in the University of Turin where I received my M.Sc. in 2014. I have been working with birds since 2010, spending six years working with Scopoli’s shearwaters (Calonectris diomedea), a pelagic seabird that breeds in Mediterranean islands. I focused on many topics, like foraging ecology, migration, breeding behaviour, parent-offspring recognition, flight behaviour and human disturbance. I have also gained experience working other bird species, such as Blue-footed boobies (Sula nebouxii), Peruvian boobies (Sula variegata) and Peruvian pelicans (Pelecanus thagus) in an island in Peru, and in a radar station in southern Italy tracking various raptors, mainly Hone buzzards (Pernis apivourus).
Info about me and my activities
Personal website: http://pablob989.wix.com/paolobecciu
ResearchGate profile: https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Paolo_Becciu
Facebook page of Scopoli’s shearwater: https://www.facebook.com/Calonectrisdiomedea